Social Phobia Among Children - Statistics and Prevalence

Social phobia is characterized by a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and feeling embarrassed or humiliated by their actions. This fear may be so severe that it interferes with work, school, and other activities and may negatively affect the person’s ability to form relationships.

1. Social Phobia in children is highly comorbid with depression as shown by prevalence rates of 25–31% in epidemiological studies and 17–52% in clinical settings.
2. A study by Beidel and colleagues found that among 50 youths with social phobia, 60% had a comorbid diagnosis.
3. The incidence of social anxiety in this sample of the population of school going children under the age group 14-17 years was found out to be 10.3%, in which 5% belonged to the moderate category, 4.3% to the marked, 0.7% to the severe old.